How to Organize Your Digital Game Libraries (Steam, PS5, Xbox)

Published on October 5, 2025

A perfectly organized, neat bookshelf.

Opening your game library and seeing a chaotic, unsorted list of hundreds of titles is a fast track to decision paralysis. A messy library feels like a chore, but a well-organized one feels like a curated collection of adventures waiting to happen. Taking an hour to organize your games is one of the most effective steps in our guide to conquering your backlog.

Here’s how to bring order to the chaos on the major gaming platforms.

The Universal Category System

Before diving into platform specifics, you need a system. Simply sorting by "Finished" and "Unfinished" isn't enough. Here is a powerful, flexible category system you can use anywhere:

  • Backlog - Play Next: Your highest priority. This folder should contain no more than 3-5 games you are genuinely excited to start.
  • Backlog - Main Story: For longer, story-driven games you plan to play.
  • Backlog - Short & Sweet: For short games (under 10 hours) that you can knock out on a weekend.
  • Currently Playing: The 1-3 games you are actively playing right now.
  • Completed: Your hall of fame! Moving a game here is incredibly satisfying.
  • On Hold / Dropped: It's okay to not finish a game. Put them here so they don't clog up your main backlog.
  • Endless / Multiplayer: For your "forever" games like Fortnite, Call of Duty, or other live-service titles.

Organizing on Steam (Collections)

Steam has the most powerful organization tools with its "Collections" feature.

  1. In your Library, click the small "Collections" icon (four squares) next to the search bar.
  2. Click "Create a new collection" and name it (e.g., "Backlog - Play Next").
  3. You can now drag and drop games from your main library list directly into your new collection on the left sidebar.
  4. Pro Tip: Create a "Dynamic Collection." You can set rules to automatically filter games. For example, create a collection for "Local Co-op" by using the "Store Tag" filter.

Organizing on PlayStation 5 (Gamelists)

The PS5's "Gamelists" feature is simple but effective.

  1. Go to your [Game Library].
  2. Navigate to the [Your Collection] tab.
  3. Select the "Create Gamelist" icon.
  4. Name your list (e.g., "Backlog - Main Story") and then select all the games from your library that you want to add to it.
  5. Your created lists will now appear as tabs at the top of your library for easy access.

Organizing on Xbox (Groups)

Xbox uses a feature called "Groups" which you can add directly to your home screen.

  1. Press the Xbox button to open the guide, select [My games & apps], and then see all.
  2. Go to the "Groups" tab and select "Create a group."
  3. Name your group (e.g., "Currently Playing").
  4. Add the games you want to include in that group.
  5. Once created, you can add this entire group as a block on your Xbox Home screen for quick access.

By investing a little time into organizing your libraries, you remove the friction of choosing what to play next. When you're ready for your next adventure, you can simply open your "Play Next" folder and dive right in, rather than scrolling for twenty minutes. And for a high-level overview of your entire cross-platform backlog, don't forget to use the gameyap Backlog Burner.